Bethlehem men face child pornography charges

Agents found camera overlooking school bus stop during raid.

Two Bethlehem men charged with possession of child pornography had a video camera aimed at a school bus stop from their bedroom window when federal agents searched their home, court documents say.

Matthew Ackerman and Thomas Syfor, of the 400 block of Carlton Avenue, were arrested in November and charged with trading photos and videos over the Internet that depicted the sexual abuse of young boys.

Both men have been held without bail since November and are scheduled to be arraigned before a federal magistrate judge in Allentown later this month.

The men were arrested after federal agents executed a search warrant at their home and found printed child pornography and a laptop computer containing several images of child pornography.

According to court documents, Ackerman, 48, admitted during an interview with an FBI agent that he traded child pornography with others by email and downloaded pictures of sexual abuse from a number of websites.

Ackerman told the agent he also received images of child sexual abuse through the mail after he responded to a magazine ad.

Syfor, 70, admitted to possessing several images of child pornography on his laptop computer and receiving images through email. He told an FBI agent that he viewed the images with Ackerman, whom he described as his lover, according to court documents.

Syfor's email account contained several email exchanges of child pornography with a person known to law enforcement, court documents said. Ackerman admitted he also had access to Syfor's email account, court documents say.

Federal prosecutors argued that Ackerman should be held without bail until his trial because he had admitted a long history of exploiting children.

In a motion to hold Ackerman without bail, prosecutors noted that agents found the video camera on a tripod aimed at a school bus stop from the window of Ackerman's and Syfor's bedroom. Included in the motion was a picture of the tripod with a school bus below.

Ackerman also told investigators that he contacted young boys online in order to meet them for sexual purposes. Ackerman said he spoke online to a 12- or 13-year-old boy as recently as three days before his Nov. 17 arrest, according to court documents.

He also admitted he used to "peep" on boys in the locker room of a school where he was employed as a janitor, according to court documents, which did not identify the school.

Syfor did not contest to being held for trial without bail.

Ackerman and Syfor face three counts each that carry maximum penalties of 30 years in prison, with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. Calls to the men's attorneys were not returned Monday.